Fiber optic connector assembly, apparatus for forming a transceiver interface, and ferrule

ABSTRACT

An fiber-optic connector assembly includes a fiber optic ferrule and a connector, which engage an optical transceiver component. The fiber optic ferrule engages a mating plane of a lens array in the optical transceiver component and floats within the connector. The engagement of the assembly and the optical transceiver component may be removable rather than fixed. The fiber optic ferrule also engages a mechanical interface to account for three degrees of freedom, while the engagement of the mating surfaces account for another three degrees of freedom.

REFERENCE TO RELATED CASE

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) toprovisional application No. 62/104,534 filed on Jan. 16, 2015, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

Typically when multi-fiber optic ferrules mate to optical transceivers,the multi-fiber ferrule mates to the optical transceiver at a matingplane. The mating plane of the optical transceiver normally containsguide holes or guide pins to align the multi-fiber ferrule in the x, y,and rotation in the x/y plane. The mating plane aligns the ferrule inthe z distance and the rotation in the y/z and x/z planes. Both themulti-fiber ferrule and the optical transceiver contain one componenteach that control all 6 degrees of freedom together. This approach iscommon in multimode optical links.

Photonic-enabled silicon transceiver devices typically have an activelyaligned interconnect that is produced from silicon, fused silica, orother similar material. This actively aligned interconnect, typically av-grove lapped with optical fiber attached, is epoxied in place. Thisapproach is taken to maximize coupling efficiency due to the smalloptical core size of the optical fibers and low coefficients of thermalexpansion (CTE) associated with the silicon, fused silica, or othersimilar material. The permanent attachment of the components greatlylimits the ability to test the connection and manufacturing flexibilityof the passive and active components in the interconnect. It isdesirable to have a separable interface at the photonically-enabledsilicon chip for next generation optical links.

Thus, an apparatus for forming a transceiver interface that is able toalign the components and account for all six degrees of freedom withoutthe effect of different CTEs of the components causing misalignmentduring operation. It is also beneficial if the components are separable,meaning that they are intended to be separated from one anotherrepeatedly without destroying any of the components or means of joiningthe components. It is also important that the optical ferrule floatsrelative to the connector in which it is disposed when the connector isattached to the transceiver devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an fiber optic connector assemblythat includes a fiber optic ferrule which further includes a main bodyhaving a front end, a back end, and a first opening extending from theback end toward the front end, the first opening configured to receiveoptical fibers therein, and a bottom surface having a first portion anda second portion, the first portion having an optical aperture thereinto allow light associated with the optical fibers to pass therethroughand the second portion having alignment projections extending from thebottom surface and away from the main body, and a connector to receivethe fiber optic ferrule therein, the connector having a front end and aback end and an opening therebetween to receive the fiber optic ferruletherein, two latches on opposite sides of the opening between the frontand back end and extending below the opening to engage a transceivercomponent.

In some embodiments, each of the latches has a receptacle to receive aportion of the fiber optic ferrule therein.

In some embodiments, the receptacle in each of the latches is a grooveto receive an elongated shoulder of the fiber optic ferrule therein.

In other embodiments, the receptacle in each of the latches is adepression to receive a generally cylindrical extension of the fiberoptic ferrule therein.

In some embodiments, the assembly also includes an elastic elementdisposed between a top surface of the fiber optic ferrule and theconnector, the elastic element biasing the fiber optic ferrule in adownward direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is aconnector for securing a fiber optic ferrule to an optical transceivercomponent that includes a main body extending between a front end and aback end, two laterally extending portions extending away from oneanother and the main body, a pair of latches extending downward from thelaterally extending portions on opposite sides of the main body, thedistal ends of the latches having an upward facing surface, a pair oftabs aligned with a respective one of the pair of latches, the tabsextending upward from the laterally extending portions and away from thelatches, and an opening in the connector for receiving the fiber opticferrule, the opening defined at least in portion by the main body andthe pair of latches.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present embodiments of theinvention are intended to provide an overview or framework forunderstanding the nature and character of the invention as it isclaimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate variousembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles and operations of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a prior art fiber optic ferrule andoptical transceiver component showing mating surfaces;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mated fiber optic ferrule andoptical transceiver component of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a second prior art fiber optic ferrule andoptical transceiver component showing mating surfaces;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the mated fiber optic ferrule andoptical transceiver component of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the optical geometry for a fiber opticferrule and lenses in an optical transceiver component;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of one embodiment of a fiber optic ferruleand optical transceiver component according to the present inventionshowing mating surfaces;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber optic ferrule of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a fiber optic ferruleand connector assembly according to the present invention adjacent anoptical transceiver component;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the fiber optic ferrule and connectorassembly of FIG. 6 prior to mating with the optical transceiver;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the fiber optic ferrule and connector assemblyprior to engagement of the connector with the optical transceiver;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the fiber optic ferrule andconnector assembly of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is cross sectional view of the fiber optic ferrule and connectorassembly of FIG. 9 adjacent the optical transceiver component;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber optic ferrule andconnector assembly as the guide pins enter the guide pin holes;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of the fiber optic ferrule andconnector assembly as the elastic element engages the opticaltransceiver;

FIG. 15 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the fiber optic ferruleand connector assembly after the connector has been latched to theoptical transceiver showing the groove;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber optic ferrule andconnector assembly fully engaged with the optical transceiver;

FIG. 17 is a detailed cross-sectional view of an another embodiment offiber optic ferrule and connector assembly according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a fiber opticferrule and connector assembly according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numeralswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one example of a prior art apparatus 10 forforming a transceiver interface includes a fiber optic ferrule 12 and anoptical transceiver component 14, with optical fibers 16 fixed in thefiber optic ferrule 12. The fiber optic ferrule 12 has guide pins 18 andthe optical transceiver component 14 has guide pin holes 20 to receivethe guide pins 18. The guide pins 18 and the guide pin holes 20 controlthree of the six degrees of freedom: the location of the fiber opticferrule 12 in the x and y directions and rotation in x/y plane. See FIG.2. The fiber optic ferrule 12 and the optical transceiver component 14also have mating planes 22,24, respectively. When the fiber opticferrule 12 and the optical transceiver component 14 are engaged, as inFIG. 2, the mating planes 22,24 of the fiber optic ferrule 12 and anoptical transceiver component 14, are in contact with one another. Thiscontact aligns the fiber optic ferrule 12 to the optical transceivercomponent 14 in the z direction and the rotation in the y/z and the x/zplanes.

The same is also true with the prior art apparatus 30 in FIGS. 3 and 4for forming a transceiver interface that includes a fiber optic ferrule32 and an optical transceiver component 34. Optical fibers, not shown,are fixed in the fiber optic ferrule 32 as is known in the art. Theoptical transceiver component 34 has guide pins 40 and fiber opticferrule 32 has guide pin holes 38 to receive the guide pins 40. Theguide pins 40 and the guide pin holes 38 control three of the sixdegrees of freedom: the location of the fiber optic ferrule 32 in the xand y directions and rotation in x/y plane. The fiber optic ferrule 32and the optical transceiver component 34 also have mating planes 42,44,respectively. When the fiber optic ferrule 32 and the opticaltransceiver component 34 are engaged, as in FIG. 4, the mating planes42,44 of the fiber optic ferrule 32 and an optical transceiver component34, are in contact with one another. This contact aligns the fiber opticferrule 32 to the optical transceiver component 34 in the z directionand the rotation in the y/z and the x/z planes.

However, there is a need to couple optical silicon devices tosingle-mode optical fibers through the use of a fiber opticferrule—generally contained within a fiber optic connector. In theschematic diagram of FIG. 5, one design possibility is to use anexpanded, collimated beam 50 between the transceiver 52 and the fiberoptic connector 54. The space between the transceiver 52 and the fiberoptic connector 54 is an air gap. The transceiver 52 has a lens 56 madefrom silicon, glass, or other low CTE material disposed above a siliconphotonics aperture 58, which is often a grating coupler with a 9 microndiameter. Between the silicon lens 56 and the silicon photonics aperture58 is typically an air gap, glass, or more silicon 60. The fiber opticconnector 54 includes a lens 62 (typically exposed to air for totalinternal reflection) on the fiber optic ferrule 64, and an optical fiber66 in alignment with the lens 62, the optical fiber 66 having a fibercore 68. The typical diameter of the optical fiber core 68 is about 9microns. The expanded, collimated light beam 50 loosens the lateralalignment tolerances in the x/y plane between the fiber optic connector54 and the transceiver enabling a separable connection, i.e., the airgap. The diagram represents a cross section in the x/z plane. Since thebeam 50 is expanded and collimated between the transceiver 52 and thefiber optic connector 54, the lateral tolerance (alignment in the x/yplane) between the transceiver 52 and the fiber optic connector 54 isapproximately 10 microns (significantly relaxed). Although the lateraltolerances are loosened by using an expanded beam, the angulartolerances between the ferrule lens 62 and the transceiver lens 56 mustbe tightened. In this case the angular tolerance should be approximately0.2 degrees or better. Due to this tightened angular requirement, it isdesirable to mate the ferrule component directly to the lens component.Furthermore, in this example the required tolerance between the lens 56and the silicon photonics aperture 58 is approximately 1.5 microns.However, the silicon lens 56 and the silicon photonics aperture 58 aremanufactured in arrays to maintain a low cost and high bandwidthdensity. The grating coupler array is made from silicon or anothermaterial with a low CTE. In order to maintain this tolerance, the lensarray also needs to be made of a low CTE material such as silicon orglass. However, it is difficult to make alignment holes or pins in alens array with low CTE materials as was previously done in the priorart. Therefore, it is necessary to separate the design into twocomponents—a low CTE lens array and another component associated withthe transceiver 52 that aligns the connector using guide pins or holes.

One such embodiment of an fiber optic connector assembly 100, whichincludes a fiber optic ferrule 102 and a connector 104, is illustratedin FIGS. 7-16. As noted above the fiber optic ferrule 102 engages and isin optical communication with an optical transceiver component 200. FIG.6 illustrates the mating surfaces of a fiber optic ferrule 102 with anoptical transceiver component 200. The optical transceiver component 200may be mounted or disposed in any number of substrates 202, which mayinclude a transceiver lid, a circuit board, etc. See FIG. 8. Additionaldetails of the optical transceiver component 200 are described below.

The fiber optic ferrule 102 includes a main body 106, the main body 106having a front end 108, a back end 110, and a first opening 112 (seeFIG. 7) extending from the back end 110 toward the front end 108. Thefirst opening 112 is configured to receive optical fibers 128 to alignwith lenses 114. The fiber optic ferrule 102 also has a bottom surface116 having a first portion 118 and a second portion 120, the firstportion 118 having an optical aperture 122 therein to allow lightassociated with the optical fibers to pass through the fiber opticferrule 102. The second portion 120 has alignment projections 124 (guidepins are illustrated herein) extending from the bottom surface 116 andaway from the main body 106. The fiber optic ferrule 102 also haslaterally extending projections (an elongated shoulder as illustrated inFIG. 6 or a generally cylindrical extension in FIG. 17) 130,132 oneither side of the main body 106 (see FIG. 6) to engage the connector104, as described in more detail below. The laterally elongatedprojections 130,132 are illustrated as extending along a substantialportion of the length of the fiber optic ferrule 102, but they could beshorter, thicker, or even have multiple thicknesses and still fallwithin the scope of the present invention.

Cooperating with the fiber optic ferrule 102 is optical transceivercomponent 200. See FIG. 6. The optical transceiver component 200includes a lens array 240 with a plurality of optical lenses 242. Thelens array 240 shows 18 lenses (3 rows of 6), but there could be more orfewer, depending on the number of optical fibers in the fiber opticferrule 102 or the desire of the user. The lens array 240 is preferablyetched from silicon or another low CTE material. The lens array 240 ispreferably aligned to transceiver apertures (not shown) as known tothose of skill in the art.

The optical transceiver component 200 also includes a mechanicalinterface 250 that has a joining surface 252 aligned with the lens array240. The joining surface 252 has two openings 254 that are sized toreceive the alignment projections 124 therein. Preferably, the openings254 are slightly larger than the alignment projections 124, to allowsome movement of the alignment projections 124 for the reasons discussedbelow.

The combination of the alignment projections 124 and the openings 254provide control of three of the degrees of freedom—the alignment in thex and the y planes and also the rotation in the x/y plane. Since themechanical interface 250 has been aligned with the lens array 240, thenthe fiber optic ferrule 102 mating to the mechanical interface 250accounts for these three degrees of freedom. To account for the otherthree degrees of freedom (z alignment, and rotation in y/z and x/zplanes), the bottom surface 116 of the fiber optic ferrule 102 makescontact with the mating surface 248 of the lens array 240. Since boththe bottom surface 116, particularly the first portion 118, and themating surface 248 of the lens array 240 are flat, the z alignment, androtation in y/z and x/z planes are accounted for. These two surfaces,first portion 118 and the mating surface 248 of the lens array 240, aretherefore mating surfaces in that they engage one another across themajority of the surface. In order to ensure that the bottom surface 116and the mating surface 248 of the lens array 240 are able to makecontact with one another (besides ensuring that they are both flat), thebottom surface 116, and particularly the second portion 120, cannot makecontact with the joining surface 252 of the mechanical interface 250.The engagement of the fiber optic ferrule 102 and the mating surface 248are further described in co-pending application Ser. No. 14/950,277,entitled Apparatus for Forming a Transceiver Interface, Ferrule andOptical Transceiver Component, filed on Nov. 24, 2015, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

To connect the fiber optic ferrule 102 with the optical transceivercomponent 200, a connector can be used to removably attach the fiberoptic ferrule 102 to the optical transceiver component 200. By“removably attach,” Applicant means that the two components can beattached and removed from one another repeatedly without damaging eitherof the components or forcing the removal of one of the components fromthe other. One embodiment of a connector 104, which can be used toconnect fiber-optic ferrule 102 to optical transceiver component 200, isillustrated in FIG. 8. The connector 104 has a main body 150 extendingfrom a front end 152 to a back end 154. The main body 150 has an upperportion 156 and a lower portion 158 with two laterally extendingportions 160 and 162, which essentially divide the main body 150 intothe upper and lower portions 156,158. The front face 160 of the lowerportion 158 is illustrated as being recessed relative to the front end152 of the upper portion 156. However, they may be flush or eveninverted and come within the scope of the present invention. It shouldbe noted that main body 150 is formed all at the same time in a singlemold from the same material. The reference to the upper portion 156 andthe lower portion 158 is merely to distinguish the recessed portion anddoes not indicate that they are two separate pieces. However, the mainbody 150 could be made from more than one piece.

Extending downward from the laterally extending portions 160, 162 arelatches 164, 166. Extending upward from the laterally extending portions160,162 are tabs 168, 170 that are used to release the latches 164,166,by squeezing the tabs 168, 170 toward one another. At the end of thelatches 164, 166 are upward facing surfaces, 172, 174, respectively. Theupward facing surfaces, 172,174, engage corresponding surfaces inopenings 256,258 of the optical transceiver component 200 to maintainthe fiber optic connector assembly 100 and the optical transceivercomponent 200 in a fixed relationship to one another. The laterallyextending portions or shoulders 160,162 are dimensioned so as to flexwhen the tabs 168, 170 are squeezed (or when the latches 164, 166 areinserted into the openings 256, 258) to allow an appropriate amount oflateral movement of the distal ends of the latches 164, 166. Thefunction of the tabs 168,170 with the latches 164,166 will be furtherclarified in the discussion provided below.

The latches 164,166 also include two receptacles 176, 178 (illustratedin this embodiment as grooves but could be other structures, as notedbelow in relation to an alternative embodiment in FIG. 17) that receivethe laterally extending projections or shoulders 130,132 on the fiberoptic ferrule 102. The fiber optic ferrule 102 is disposed within anopening 180 within the connector 104. The opening 180 is formed by abottom surface 182 of the lower portion 158 of the main body 150 and thetwo latches 164,166. The opening 180 extends rearwardly toward the backend 154. Attached at the back end 154 is a cylindrical optical fiberhousing 184, through which the optical fibers 128 (the optical fibersmay be in a matrix covering, a cable jacket, or other covering and stillfall within the scope of the present invention). The cylindrical opticalfiber housing 184 is preferably formed at the same time as the remainderof the connector 104. As recognized by those of skill in the art, theconnector 104 would have the un-terminated optical fibers 128 insertedthrough the cylindrical optical fiber housing 184, and the opening 180in the connector 104, where the fiber optic ferrule 102 would then besecured to the optical fibers 128. The fiber optic ferrule 102 (inparticular the laterally extending projections or shoulders 130,132)would then be inserted into the two grooves 176, 178. The grooves 176,178 have an upper surface 176 a, 178 a and a lower surface 176 b, 178 b,separated by a distance T1 of 0.5 to 1.0 mm. The shoulders have athickness T2 of 0.3 to 0.4 mm. A boot or other protection (not shown)can also be used to cover the optical fibers 128 and the cylindricaloptical fiber housing 184, but is not required.

It should be noted that the grooves 176, 178 are deep enough (the widthof the upper surfaces 176 a, 178 a and lower surfaces 176 b, 178 b) thatthe fiber optic ferrule 102 does not fall from latches 164, 166, whensqueezing the tabs 168, 170 or separating the latches 164, 166 wheninserting the connector 104 into the optical transceiver component 200.Alternatively, it is possible that another structure extend from thebottom surface 182 of the lower portion 158 of the main body 150 down ina parallel manner to the latches 164, 166 with other grooves to supportthe fiber optic ferrule 102 so that the alternative structure does notmove when the tabs 168, 170 are squeezed to engage and/or disengage theconnector 104 from the optical transceiver component 200.

Disposed between the fiber optic ferrule 102 and the connector 104 is anelastic member 190. See FIG. 12 (the optical fibers 128 have beenremoved for clarity purposes). The elastic member 190 is preferably aleaf spring, but can also be a coil spring as illustrated in FIG. 18.The elastic member 190 has a first end 192 disposed over the front end108 of the main body 106 of the fiber optic ferrule 102 and extendsrearwardly past the back end 110 to the front end 186 of the cylindricaloptical fiber housing 184, where the elastic member 190 extends downwardbefore returning in a forward direction at an angle to a second end 194.The first end 192 of elastic member 190 extends along a top surface ofthe fiber optic ferrule 102 corresponding to the first portion 118. Theelastic member 190 then extends upward to engage the bottom surface 182of the main body 150 in the opening 180. This arrangement causes thefiber optic ferrule 102 to be biased downward (away from the bottomsurface 182 of the opening 180) and the laterally extending projections(shoulders) 130,132 downward in the grooves 176, 178. Thus, the elasticmember 190, when pushing on the fiber optic ferrule 102, pushes thelaterally extending projections/shoulders 130,132 downward onto thelower surfaces 176 b,178 b when the fiber optic connector assembly 100is not engaged to the optical transceiver component 200.

The attachment of the fiber optic connector assembly 100 to the opticaltransceiver component 200 will now be described with reference to FIGS.10 and 13-16. As the fiber optic connector assembly 100 is aligned withthe optical transceiver component 200, the latches 164, 166 are alignedwith the openings 256, 258. See, e.g., FIG. 10. As the latches 164, 166are entering the openings 256,258, the alignment projections 124 on thefiber optic ferrule 102 are being roughly aligned with the two openings254 in the optical transceiver component 200. See FIG. 13. Once thealignment projections 124 enter the openings 254, the first portion 118aligns with the mating surface 248 of the lens array 240. See FIG. 14.As of the connector 104 is secured to the mechanical interface 250, thefiber-optic ferrule 102 engages the mating surfaced 248 and, due to therelative positions of the fiber optic ferrule 102, the connector 104,and the optical transceiver component 200, the fiber-optic ferrule 102is pushed upwards relative to the connector 104. As such, the laterallyextending projections/shoulders 130, 132 would be biased upward off ofthe lower surfaces 176 b, 178 b of the grooves 176, 178. See FIG. 16.However, the laterally extending projections/shoulders 130, 132 wouldnot be engaging the upper surfaces 176 a,178 a of the grooves 176,178.Thus, the fiber optic ferrule 102 is floating relative to the connector104, with the exception of the engagement of the elastic member 190. Itshould be noted that the second end 194 of the elastic member 190engages a portion of the optical transceiver component 200 or one of thesubstrates 202 in which it is mounted. See FIG. 14. A vertical force isapplied to the second end 194 of the elastic number 190, causing avertical force from the elastic member 190 to be applied to the top ofthe fiber optic ferrule 102 over the first portion 118. As with theprior application, the second portion 120 does not engage the joiningsurface 252 of the mechanical interface 250 thereby allowing a completemating of the first portion 118 with the meeting service 248 with allsix degrees of freedom being controlled.

An alternative embodiment of a fiber optic connector assembly 100′ ispartially illustrated in FIG. 17. In this embodiment, the fiber opticferrule 102′ has alternative laterally extending projections, with alaterally extending projection 130′ illustrated in FIG. 17 (thecorresponding projection 132′ on the opposite side is not visible inthis figure). Similarly, the connector 104′ has alternative receptacles,again with only one receptacle 176′ visible while the correspondingreceptacle is on the other side of the connector 104′. In thisembodiment, the laterally extending projections 130′,132′ are laterallyextending generally cylindrical projections and the receptacles176′,178′ are depressions to receive the laterally extending projections130′,132′. The depressions 176′,178′ are generally oval in shape withthe longer axis in a vertical orientation, which allow the fiber opticferrule 102′ to float vertically with respect to the connector 104′ asdescribed above with the other embodiments. While there is a shoulder176 a′ that surrounds the depression, it is possible that the latchesare thick enough to allow material to be removed therefrom to create theoval receptacles. In this embodiment, the fiber optic ferrule 102′ couldbe snapped into the depressions 176′,178′ rather than sliding intogrooves.

As noted above, the present invention also contemplates that a coiledspring can be used rather than a leaf spring. A fiber optic connectorassembly 300 is illustrated in FIG. 18 that replaces elastic member (theleaf spring) 190 with a coil spring 390.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

We claim:
 1. An fiber optic connector assembly comprising: a fiber opticferrule comprising: a main body having a front end, a back end, and afirst opening extending from the back end toward the front end, thefirst opening configured to receive optical fibers therein; and a bottomsurface having a first portion and a second portion, the first portionhaving an optical aperture therein to allow light associated with theoptical fibers to pass therethrough and the second portion havingalignment projections extending from the bottom surface and away fromthe main body; and a connector to receive the fiber optic ferruletherein, the connector having a front end and a back end and an openingtherebetween to receive the fiber optic ferrule therein, two latches onopposite sides of the opening between the front and back end andextending below the opening to engage a transceiver component, each ofthe latches has a groove as a receptacle to receive an elongatedshoulder of the fiber optic ferrule therein.
 2. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the latches provide a latching mechanism to attachthe connector to a portion of an optical component.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the first and second portions of the fiberoptic ferrule do not engage the connector when the connector is attachedto an optical component.
 4. An fiber optic connector assemblycomprising: a fiber optic ferrule comprising: a main body having a frontend, a back end, and a first opening extending from the back end towardthe front end, the first opening configured to receive optical fiberstherein; and a bottom surface having a first portion and a secondportion, the first portion having an optical aperture therein to allowlight associated with the optical fibers to pass therethrough and thesecond portion having alignment projections extending from the bottomsurface and away from the main body; and a connector to receive thefiber optic ferrule therein, the connector having a front end and a backend and an opening therebetween to receive the fiber optic ferruletherein, two latches on opposite sides of the opening between the frontand back end and extending below the opening to engage a transceivercomponent, each of the latches has a depression as a receptacle toreceive a generally cylindrical extension of the fiber optic ferruletherein.
 5. An fiber optic connector assembly comprising: a fiber opticferrule comprising: a main body having a front end, a back end, and afirst opening extending from the back end toward the front end, thefirst opening configured to receive optical fibers therein; and a bottomsurface having a first portion and a second portion, the first portionhaving an optical aperture therein to allow light associated with theoptical fibers to pass therethrough and the second portion havingalignment projections extending from the bottom surface and away fromthe main body; a connector to receive the fiber optic ferrule therein,the connector having a front end and a back end and an openingtherebetween to receive the fiber optic ferrule therein, two latches onopposite sides of the opening between the front and back end andextending below the opening to engage a transceiver component; and anelastic element disposed between a top surface of the fiber opticferrule and the connector, the elastic element biasing the fiber opticferrule in a downward direction.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5,wherein the elastic element is a leaf spring.
 7. The apparatus accordingto claim 6, wherein the elastic element extends over the top of thefiber optic ferrule from the front end of the main body past the backend and downward past the first opening.
 8. The apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein the elastic element is a coil spring.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein the elastic element biases the fiber opticferrule at the first portion.